SecurityStories - 52 Weeks, 52 Stories: Story - 4
~ Don't lose your creativity. As soon as people get a cybersecurity job, they lose their curiosity and creativity.
Featuring Luke Stephens widely known as @hakluke who needs no introductions. Let's know his story. 🧵
Question: Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Luke: I'm Luke Stephens. I go by hakluke online. I'm a computer hacker and indie founder.
I'm a pentester and bug bounty hunter, but these days I spend most of my time running my businesses, Haksec.io (a pentesting consultancy) and HackerContent.com (a marketing agency for cybersecurity businesses)
Question: How did you get started in Cyber Security?
Luke: I started hacking at a very young age - I can't really remember precisely what drew me to it, but I know that the movie "The Matrix" had a significant part to play.
Question: What were the initial challenges and blockers you faced?
Luke: When I learned to hack, minimal resources were available on the internet. Today we are spoiled for choice!
Question: What is the learning methodology you followed or still follow?
Luke: ❌ Learn, learn, learn, learn, do.
✅ Learn, do, learn, do, learn, do.
I only really learn things if I need to know them for the project that I'm currently on. That way, my learning always has a purpose and a goal. I rarely sit down and watch tutorials about something because I might need it at some point in future.
Question: What all certifications do you hold, & what certificates would you recommend to the readers?
Luke: I have a Bachelor of Music and OSCP.
I would recommend something other than the Bachelor of Music. It hasn't advanced my career in cybersecurity. It was fun, though
Question: What is your favourite thing to hack on?
Luke: I love to hack on web applications.
Question: What does your tool arsenal look like - Could you share some?
Luke: A lot of my tools are ones I have written myself. I open source most of them on my GitHub, github.com/hakluke.
Other than that, I use Burp Suite and a bunch of tools from ProjectDiscovery.
Question: How do you cope with Burn Outs?
Luke: I stop doing whatever is burning me out. I also review the basics: Am I sleeping enough? Am I eating good food? Am I exercising? Am I giving myself time to relax?
Question: What would you advise the newcomers in Cyber Security?
Luke: Don't lose your creativity. As soon as people get a cybersecurity job, they lose their curiosity and creativity.
Try to keep your fire burning.
Question: How do you keep up with the latest trends in Cyber Security - Could you share your go-to resources?
Luke: Mostly Twitter, but I also sign up for several good newsletters. Namely Securibee's "Hive Five Newsletter" and Daniel Meissler's newsletter.
Question: What's your life outside hacking?
Luke: When I am not hacking, I mostly enjoy hanging out with my family.
Social Profiles
- Twitter: twitter.com/hakluke
- Web: hakluke.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hakluke/
- Newsletter: getrevue.co/profile/hakluke
- YouTube: youtube.com/hakluke
- TikTok: tiktok.com/@hakluke
- Insta: instagram.com/hakluke_
- Discord: hakluke#1337
- Mastodon: infosec.exchange/@hakluke
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> We will be coming up with more exciting and inspiring stories Weekly.
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